Perhaps HC sold you your copies genuinely in sequence, then sold 100 or so copies to a re-seller - such as the one mentioned in my previous post - between then and the time it took to process my order. It seems to be the only rational explanation for how they got through so many copies in such a short time.

Of course, *if* this is the case, then HC still advertising the book on their own website as being exclusive is somewhat dodgy, especially as it is for 90 pounds more than the seller on AbeBooks.